Is This Russell Martin's Year?

[2011wahoo]

Back in 2007 Russell Martin was the #1 fantasy catcher, yes #1. He has dropped off over the past seasons but now he is at that magical age of 28 and he is batting in the Yankees lineup. What is the consensus on Martin? Do you think he will be a top 5 fantasy catcher this season, possibly even #1?

P.S.-Don't let that fact that you missed out on picking him up off the WW affect your opinion.

[BJSFAN123]

He could finish as a top 5, outside of a few names.. C is quite the crap-shoot.

[mweir145]

He looks like the same guy as a few years ago. So yeah, definitely. Especially in that lineup.

[juliown1028]

I had him his magical year where he almost went 20-20. 20 steals from a catcher is unheard of, well not unheard of, but truly rare. While he won't be running much in NY (I'd say like 10 SB max), he definitely can produce. In 2008, Torre played him ALOT, I think overworked him at some points, playing him at 3B when he should've had days off because Torre believed their lineup needed his offense. Also, expectations were high for him after 2007. LA expected him to be an all star every year for them after that and I think that pressure kind of got to him. Then he also got injured.

He's dealt with being overworked and injured and I believe if Girardi handles Martin right he can be a top 5 catcher. Plus when he came to NY, despite the big publicity of NY, no one really expected much out of him. He's gotten healthy, relieved pressure, fresh start, not to mention a better ballpark to hit in, and a better lineup.

I'd say 20-25 HR, 80-90 RBI, .280-.290 are about what you can expect out of him. I may be a bit optimistic though because I've wanted to see him do well since I had him in 2007.

[Element]

He'll wear down as the season progresses. He always does. Less high after May.

[Havok1517]

I think he's already had his 'year' though this could be a good one too.

[silverZ]

Picked up off the WW? He was drafted in all of my leagues. With that being said I'm satrting to wish I had drafted him instead of Posada. That DH role had me drooling. I wouldn't be surprised to see Martin finish as a top 5 catcher.

[thejusman1]

Picked up off the WW? He was drafted in all of my leagues. With that being said I'm satrting to wish I had drafted him instead of Posada. That DH role had me drooling. I wouldn't be surprised to see Martin finish as a top 5 catcher.

Same. I guess I wasn't the only one who drafted the wrong C-eligible Yankee...

[2011wahoo]

He has a 260 ADP, the lowest you can get, so he must not have drafted in hardly any leagues. He was only drafted in 1 of my 4 leagues.

[hot4tx]

I think he'll be good this year, and I'm ashamed I missed him off the waivers. I don't think he'll be the best C and maybe not in the top 5. He doesn't run as much these days and those 20 SBs were a big reason he had such 5x5 value. He'll still come close to swiping 10 bags, which might be tops for a C, but it'll still limit that extra value. I also don't see his power and average likely continuing like it has so far. Looking at his career it seems more fluke than typical for him.

He'll still give up top-10 C numbers for the year and does have the chance for more, but I wouldn't rank him above VMart, Posey, or McCann for sure right now.